Hernando sting nails unlicensed contractors

BROOKSVILLE — After a multiagency sting last week, three men were arrested on charges of unlicensed contracting.

Hernando County Sheriff's Office deputies identified multiple people in the area advertising as licensed contractors. Several of them, investigators say, did not have licenses.

Between Nov. 8 and 9, investigators placed controlled phone calls to three suspects and asked them to do work that would require a contractor's license. In all three cases, authorities say, the men agreed and came to a predetermined location where they had been asked to offer estimates. There, deputies arrested them.

Paul Kariotis, 58, of Spring Hill; Phillip Vance Ortiz, 50, of Brooksville; and Darrell Taylor, 55, of Brooksville were all charged with unlicensed contracting. Bail was set at $500 for each.

To learn more about preventing contractor fraud and other scams, sheriff's officials recommended that people visit their website at hernandosheriff.org/applications/fraud.